He caught sight of Melody sitting nearby, and he bent down in front of her. “I’m sorry about this, Melody, but it’s the best thing for you. Once that thing is out of here, you’ll be able to recover from this.”
She didn’t say anything, but waited for him to leave. A moment later, he and Lyric and Brody left the marquee to the blood-thirsty horde. Exclamations and excited talk bounced off Melody without making a dent. None of it meant anything. She would never recover from this, not with Riley dead or alive.
Walker would never change his mind now. None of the men would ever change their minds about killing Riley. All the men who once tried to save him sided with Walker now. To them, Riley was the enemy.
Mattox and Brody thought they could save Melody by killing Riley. They didn’t understand they would kill her along with him. She could never live without him.
She sat in the same place, staring straight in front of her, but her mind whirled. She had one chance at this. If it failed, she would lose everything—Riley, her family, everything.
She didn’t ask to go near the basement. She already knew the answer. What was Riley doing down there? Was he slowly bleeding to death? Was the panther smashing its fragile body back and forth against the bars? No, the men wouldn’t unchain him even inside the cage.
The Dunlaps and the Cunninghams partied it up at their brunch on one end of the marquee. Brunch turned to lunch, and still it went on. The day dragged past until the sun went down. Walker laughed and toasted everyone, and Marla smiled with all her care wiped off her face. All her worries would end soon.
Melody got up with slow, deliberate movements. She slipped out into the dusky evening and glided over the lawn to the shed. She ducked inside, but she dared not turn on the overhead light.
She crept over to the tool bench and looked around. She glided along the bench until she found what she wanted. Her fingers closed around a jagged hacksaw blade. The fine, rough tines dug into her palm. She could actually feel something for once. That blade represented freedom, completion—freedom into death.
She passed the blade up her skirt and wedged it into her waistband. She walked slowly and sedately back toward the marquee, but when she saw the Cunninghams burst out in a crowd, she changed her mind.
Walker escorted his family to their cars while Marla went into the house. Melody milled around to watch until she could make an understated exit. She followed Marla into the house and tiptoed up the stairs.
Riley was waiting right downstairs. Did he hear her footsteps on the stairs? Did he hope and pray she would come up with a way to held him just one more time? Melody took a deep breath and knocked on Marla’s door.
A voice lilted inside. “Come in.”
Melody found Marla sitting at her vanity with not a square of satin or organza in sight. Marla wore plain blue jeans and a denim jacket over her button-down blouse. She tugged on one knee-high boot and unzipped the other. Her eyes brightened when Melody walked in. “Oh, hello, Melody. Are you enjoying yourself?”
Melody forced herself to smile. “This is a great wedding, Marla. No one could ask for a better one, and now you’re riding off into the sunset with your mate. I hope you have a good time on your honeymoon.”
Marla laughed. “Some honeymoon. We’re just staying at Cunningham Homestead at night from now on, but we’ll be back during the day. I’m sure the wedding will keep going for a while yet. I’ll see you again tomorrow morning.”
“It’s too bad Bruins can’t take fancy honeymoons to Switzerland and the Bahamas like humans do.”
“I don’t mind. Just getting off alone with Walker is all I really want, and with everyone still here, we’ll have the Homestead to ourselves. It will be just like a real honeymoon in Switzerland with no one around to bother us.”
Melody sighed. “You’re lucky. I envy you.”
Marla zipped up her boot and took Melody’s hand. “You’ll be mated soon. Then everything will be wonderful for you, too.”
“I hope you’re right.” Melody drew her hand out of Marla’s grasp and strolled over to the window. The marquee glowed with light across the field. “Don’t worry about all this wedding stuff. I’ll clean it up after you’re gone.”
Marla’s head shot up. “Really? You don’t have to do that. I’m sure my mother and Clarissa will do it. You’re a guest. You should enjoy yourself down at the marquee.”
“That’s okay. I want to help any way I can.” Melody started straightening up the room. She hung Marla’s wedding dress and veil on a hanger over the curtain rod. She straightened up the bed and put the spare bridesmaids dresses on the rack near Marla’s closet. She started putting random things in Marla’s suitcase.
Marla gave her a quick hug. “Thank you so much. I’ll run downstairs and say bye to my family. Then I’ll come back up here and get my suitcase. Are you sure you really want to do this? You don’t have to.”
Melody let out a forced laugh. “It’s all right. I want to. You go ahead. I’ll have your suitcase ready when you come back.”
Marla burst out of the room. Her boot heels pounded down the stairs and vanished outside. Melody kept working around the room in no particular hurry. She zipped up Marla’s toiletry bag and folded the leather jacket lying loose near the suitcase. She put the room to rights.
Only after a long pause and a lot of other extraneous jobs done first did Melody work her way back to the suitcase. She plucked the toiletry bag out of the suitcase, zipped it open and took out a key chain. She selected a key with a thick plastic knob on one end, worked it off the ring, and dropped it down her bra before returning the toiletry bag to the suitcase.
When Marla came back a moment later, the suitcase stood zipped and ready to go by the door. Marla threw her arms around Melody. “Wish me luck!”
Melody laughed and hugged her friend. “Good luck. Don’t come back too soon.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t.” Marla seized the suitcase and was gone.
The key burned a hole in Melody’s chest, but she took a firm hold on herself. She made herself move around the Homestead with easy care so as not to arouse any suspicion. When Lyric tried to talk to her, Melody held up both hands. “I’m all right. I’m just tired. I think I’ll get an early night.”
She went back to her room in the Dunlap’s house. She sat on the bed and waited for the noise to die down outside. She sat awake all night long. In the early hours of the morning, she slid down the stairs without making a sound.
As she expected, the key no longer stuck in the basement doorknob. She wouldn’t get in that way, but she had a plan. She let herself out into the cool night and worked her way around the house to the back door.
She located the tiny window set into the concrete foundation. That window let a hint of light into the basement during daylight hours. No light got in there now. She knelt down by the window and grazed around the casement with her fingertips.
Nothing but smooth, paint-covered wood held the glass in place on all sides. She searched in vain for any indent or protrusion, but found nothing. This called for drastic measures.
She fished the hacksaw blade out from under her dress and worked it into the soft putty around the glass. She took longer than she planned to dig a hole in it, but once she got the putty off, the rest of the wood collapsed with no trouble.
She lifted the glass and broken casement out of the way and stuck her head inside. The basement stunk of cat and blood and fear. Riley was in there, somewhere in the dark. She worked her shoulders and chest inside and got her hands wedged around the window frame.
Her dress caught on the jagged wood, but that didn’t matter anymore. She slithered through the window and somersaulted onto the floor. She paused to let her eyes adjust to the light.
The cage stood in its usual corner. The dim light coming through the window gleamed on the chains, but it disappeared into the panther’s jet black fur. The cat lay on its side in the cage. He panted through his nostrils. The duct tape still held his mouth cl
osed, and the chains weighed him down to the ground.
Melody stepped over to the cage. Riley’s eyes glistened in the dark. She groped her way to the lock and whispered under her breath. “Don’t worry. It’s only me. I’ll have you out in a second.”
She set to work on the lock. She sawed her blade back and forth against the cold steel, but at least it didn’t make any noise. Riley watched her with his penetrating eyes. He couldn’t help her now.
She sawed as hard and fast as she dared until the metal twisted and finally broke free. Melody’s heart soared. She flew into the cage, and her hands alighted on that velvet black fur.
Her hands came away sticky with blood, but she couldn’t do anything about that now. She worked the duct tape free, but in the end, she had to yank it off. The cat growled low, but made no move to bite her.
She touched the chains and found them padlocked together at the ends. Another tense session of working her saw blade over them freed the ends. She unwound them and stepped back.
The night contracted in on itself. The panther twisted onto its feet, and Riley rose from the ground in all his intense beauty. He smiled at her. “I wondered if you would come.”
She leapt into his arms. “I couldn’t leave you here to die. Are you hurt bad?”
He shrugged. “I’m not so hurt that I can’t get out of here.”
He tried to kiss her, but she broke away. “I’m coming with you. Come on. I stole the key to the Dunlap’s Escalade. We can drive out of here in style.”
“You can’t leave, Melody. It’s too risky. You’ve done enough already. Even if you get in trouble, at least you’ll be safe.”
“I can’t turn back now. I have to save you, and that means leaving with you. I can’t live without you. I won’t live without you. We’re mated for life—at least I am. Whatever happens, we’ll be together.”
He grabbed her and kissed her. “All right then. For life! Now, how do we get out of here?”
“The window. You boost me up, and I’ll pull you up after me.”
They raced together to the window, hand in hand. Riley laced his fingers together to make a step and boosted Melody through the hole. Once through, she stuck her head and shoulders back through to hold out her hands. “Come on. I’ll pull you.”
Riley moved back and shook his head. “Back away. I can get through by myself, but I need you out of the way.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but when the light caught his shining black eyes, she closed her mouth and backed out of the hole. The moment she got clear, a scratching noise scuttled around the hole, and the panther slithered through into the night. He clawed the broken casement frame and hauled himself clear. A moment later, Riley took the cat’s place at Melody’s side.
They set off running together over the fields with their hands rejoined. Melody guided Riley toward the shed. She drew the Escalade key from her bra and grabbed the shed door handle.
She flashed Riley a brilliant smile. They were doing it! Just a few more steps, they would fire the Escalade’s engine and drive away to freedom. She heaved all her weight against the door handle and slid it back.
At that moment, something thumped in the shed and floodlights blinded Melody for a fraction of a second. She blinked, and her heart stopped in her throat. Standing there in the blazing light with all their guns locked and loaded, stood Walker, Mattox, Brody, Austin, Aiken Dunlap—the whole crew. They formed a line in front of the Dunlap’s vehicles to block Melody and Riley from escaping.
Melody stared at these men she knew and loved so well. Just for a moment, she thought she was scared. The next instant, her fear vanished. Right up until today, she considered every one of them family. She would give her life in a heartbeat for any of them.
Now, they were enemies. They wanted to kill her mate. The bear rose up ferocious and unchained in her heart. No one would harm her mate as long as she drew breath in her body. They would kill her first.
Mattox shook his head. “Where are you going, Melody?”
She didn’t have to answer. He already knew. They all knew.
Walker leveled his gun at Riley’s chest. “Get out of the way, Melody. I was going to wait until morning and make a big spectacle out of this, but we can do it here just as well. Get out of the way. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Melody clenched her teeth and stepped in front of Riley. “You’re not going to kill him, Walker. Not now, not ever. You’ll have to kill me first.”
His finger squeezed the trigger. “I don’t want to kill you, Melody, but I will if I have to. I’ll kill anyone who tries to protect that cat.”
Before Melody could answer, Riley moved forward. He clasped her shoulders and moved her aside. “I don’t need you protecting me, Melody. I can handle this on my own.”
She turned her head to say something about his injuries, but Riley ceased to exist. Faster than thought, the panther rocketed forward. He hit Walker so hard he jammed the rifle back into Walker’s chest. Walker staggered backwards, but before he could recover, the panther closed on him. Riley’s piercing fangs stabbed around Walker’s face, and all four paws sank their claws into his body.
Walker dropped his gun. His hands flew to the cat’s neck, but Riley’s fangs already broke the skin. Blood trickled down Walkers neck and face. Riley’s claws shredded his clothes and set to work doing the same to the body underneath.
Walker bellowed in pain and surprise, but two bears bolted forward from the end of the line. Austin and Aiken closed on Riley. Mattox and Brody moved in for the kill.
Austin pounced on Riley with his jaws set to crush the panther’s neck from behind. Before he could get a decent grip, Walker hauled the cat’s razor teeth off his head. With one monstrous explosion of muscle power, he hurled the cat free. Riley landed on his back a few paces away and bowled along the floor.
The Bruins wheeled to the attack with Walker at their head. The moment he got to his feet, Walker shifted. An enraged roar ripped from his mouth, and his fury stretched his jaws into a shivering snout of teeth and spitting ferocity.
Riley squirmed one way and launched himself straight at Walker. Walker rose on his hind legs to meet the cat, and bear and panther closed in matched hostility. Their jaws slashed right and left in a blinding effort to land a bite. Riley clung to Walker’s massive bulk with all four feet. He sank his claws into Walker’s skin the same way he sank them into the tree trunk.
Walker pawed around Riley’s shoulders, but he couldn’t get inside where he could do any damage. He didn’t have to. A second later, four more bears sandwiched Riley between them. Mattox hooked a paw between the combatants’ chests. With one mighty flip of his wrist, he sent Riley spinning backward onto the floor.
The others converged around the fallen cat to finish him off. The Dunlap boys jumped in first with all their boundless energy. The Farrell brothers joined them, and Riley sank under a pile of furry, brown bodies.
Melody couldn’t stand back and watch this. She couldn’t let them kill her mate, and Riley couldn’t fight all these bears at once. They would never let him out of that shed alive.
Without thinking twice, she gave rein to her inner demon. The bear exploded out of her soul in all her animal madness. Every rational thought disappeared from her mind. Nothing remained but primal lust, fury, and blood.
She rocketed off the ground and landed on Mattox’s shoulder. She sank her fangs into his neck and cut right and left with her claws. She ripped fur and skin. She tore muscle and broke bones. She gave no thought to who she hurt or killed. One thought drew her forward: Riley. She had to find him in that pile.
Mattox rounded on her with a scream of pain. Austin reared to face her. She gave them not a second thought. She didn’t care who she hurt. She didn’t care if she never set foot on Mackenzie Homestead again. She didn’t care if she killed her own Alpha and his cutthroat quisling brothers.
Let ‘em come. Let ‘em stand up to her and see how far they got. Let ‘em roar and threaten. She wasn’
t threatening anymore. She wasn’t asking permission. She would kill anyone or anything in her way.
On instinct, all the male bears in the shed shrank from the she-bear’s might and fury. Their ancient senses told them not to mess with her. Even Walker looked up from fighting Riley to see what was going on. Melody’s thundering roar penetrated their hearts.
In the pause, Riley slithered out from under the pile of Bruin bodies. The next moment, the bears turned on him as one. Half of them attacked him while the Farrells and Aiken Dunlap closed on Melody. She didn’t care. She welcomed them with her roaring challenge shaking the roof beams.
Once their surprise wore off, the men made no bones about turning the tide of battle. They knew they dominated Riley and Melody in strength and numbers. They only had to keep fighting and they would win.
Melody kept up her ferocious slashing, roaring, and biting, but she couldn’t continue up forever. Even the she-bear understood that now. Mattox came at her head-on while Brody and Austin flanked her. Aiken came up behind her. They didn’t want to hurt her, but with her fighting them so hard, they had no choice. They would rip her to pieces and leave her carcass bleeding on the floor, right next to Riley’s.
She cast one glance across the shed to Riley underneath another pile of Bruins. He looked over at her at the same moment, and their eyes met. They could never get to the cars now, much less get into them and drive away. Both of them fought to the limit of their strength just to stay alive.
All of a sudden, Riley’s gleaming eyes made a rapid dart toward the door and came back to her face. What was he trying to tell her? At that moment, he gave a vicious jerk. Every muscle along his supple spine writhed at once. He flexed sideways and freed his head just enough to sink his fangs into Jana’s foreleg.
Jana reared back in surprise. Riley swept his rear paw upward and gashed Walker up the inner thigh with one claw. That claw ripped sinew from bone and left the flesh gaping. Walker’s leg buckled under him, and Riley wriggled through the opened left by the two injured bears.
Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume II) Page 12